Happy National Irish Coffee Day - here's the best spots in the US to try the warming Irish treat

Coffee. Whiskey. Cream. Sugar. The ingredients are simple enough for the drink known the world over as Irish coffee.

Yet, like snowflakes, it seems that no two places serve the hot and sweet concoction exactly the same. That’s why we here at IrishCentral have compiled a list of the ten best places to grab an Irish coffee in the United States.

First a little Irish coffee history for you.

The first Irish coffee was served in Ireland in the 1940s at what is known today as Shannon Airport by the head chef Joseph Sheridan. Apparently Sheridan added whiskey to coffee to warm up passengers as they got off their Pan Am Flying Boat. When asked the name of this peculiar drink he replied “Irish coffee”.

The travel writer at the time for the San Fransisco chronicle, Stanton Delaplane, brought the recipe back to the states and namely to the Buena Vista Café in San Fransisco where the first Irish coffee was served on November 10th 1952.

To perfect the drink, Buena Vista bar owners worked with the town mayor to perfect the art of floating the cream on top of the coffee. They discovered that cream aged for more than 48 hours would work best.

The Irish coffee as we know it today was born.
Here are the best spots in the United States to grab an Irish coffee: